Most Americans don't follow Eurovision. In fact, ties to Europe are increasingly fringe - either alt-right "White Christendom" types or "I support Scandinavian

Most Americans don't follow Eurovision. In fact, ties to Europe are increasingly fringe - either alt-right "White Christendom" types or "I support Scandinavian socialism" types (yes ik Scandinavia is not socialist). A major reason cooperative Atlanticism emerged instead of a more hardline psudeo-colonial approach like the US took in Japan, SK, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, and Thailand during the 1950s-90s was because some of the most important foreign policy decisionmakers in mid-late 20th century America were 1.5 or 2nd Generation immigrants from Europe - think Kissinger (born and raised in Germany), Albright (born and raised in Czechia+Britan), or Brzezinski (born and raised in Poland+USSR) - and had some amount of sympathy for individual Europeans as a result. In the 2010s and onwards, most Americans (and especially those of us who worked on the Hill) either never had blood ties or have extremely distant blood ties to Europe. From a soft power perspective in the US, Asia and Latin American has a stronger foothold compared to much of Europe - Korean fashion like bucket hats are becoming common, Anime has become mainstream, and Reggaton and Latin Pop like that composed by Bad Bunny or Luis Fosi (Despacito) has become mainstream. And when European nations take a hard-right turn (eg. an AfD, RN, or Reform victory), when Democrats eventually return to power, we'd shun Europe as well because racism is still alive and well in plenty of Europe, and South Asian and Arab Americans are overrepresented in policymaking roles in both parties, and those of us who enter the space are very aware of how our ethnic peers are treated across the pond. There's a reason our parents immigrated here instead of London or Frankfurt. And that resentment bleeds into ambivalence/indifference about Europe.